Capturing the Wind
by Dreaming-Of-A-Nightmare
Summary: “Capturing the wind is an impossible feat.” “Not for an airbender.” “A what?” ...When the world forgets the bending races, it’s up to a team of six teenagers to prove just how alive bending still is.:.Future-set AU. Taang, sibToko, Zutara, Sukka, Maetbee.
1. Start of a Journey

**A/N: Yes, I know you're all surprised to see this. I am, too; it's another giant, epic plot set in motion. And I have no idea how this idea will go over with Avatards. I don't even know if I like the AU setting, but oh well. The idea won't leave me. So… here we go, a sort of 'us against the world' and 'coming of age' story. Like the show, Aang will be immature at first, but he'll mature. The same goes for a lot of other characters, too, I suppose; but mainly the huge changes in behavior will be seen in Aang.**

**Ages: Zuko, seventeen. Azula, sixteen. Ty Lee, sixteen. Sokka, sixteen. Suki, sixteen. Katara, fifteen. Aang, thirteen. Toph, thirteen. Mae, seventeen. Jet, seventeen. Smellerbee, fifteen. Pipsqueak, fifteen (but often mistaken for eighteen). The Duke, twelve. Longshot, fifteen. Haru, fifteen (but because of his mustache, mistaken for at least seventeen or so). Teo, thirteen. Meng, twelve. **

**Pairings: Taang – TophXAang. (sibling) Toko – Toph/Zuko. Zutara – ZukoXKatara. Sukka – SukiXSokka. Maetbee – MaeXJetXSmellerbee triangle (a weird one, I know, but it's fun. :3 ). **

**Before anyone can ask questions, Mai's name is going to be spelled as 'Mae' instead. Why? Because 'Mai' should be pronounced 'mie' like 'pie' and not 'may'. Because Ozai's name ends in an 'ai' and sounds like 'eye', so Mai's should as well! But since it doesn't sound that way, I fixed the spelling. Yeah, I know, I'm picky. Whatever. XD**

* * *

_Long ago, people were connected with nature. Man and the elements lived together in harmony, in which man could bend the earth, the air, the sea, or the rays of the sun to their will by using the chi that flowed through their bodies. _

_But over time, at a steadily increasing rate, man lost touch with nature. They began to destroy it with technological advancements. The harmony was broken. With each new generation, the blood of the benders grew thin and weak, and only a few select people were taught and held the blood of the bending race. Before, anyone could command any element; but now, depending on your family, man can command but one._

_To the east in Japan, the land of the rising sun, the firebenders reside. After migrating to the north from the South Pole, the waterbenders live in Alaska. To the equator, in the Amazon, the cousins of the waterbender reside: the swampbenders. Then, scattered across China and a few in western America, the earthbenders. And their cousins to the Middle Eastern deserts and in Egypt, the sandbenders. Finally, the thinnest line of race there is: the airbenders. They live anywhere, for they are nomadic, forever changing their whereabouts. Although, if you were to trace their origin, you would be somewhere in the Himalayan mountains where the wisest monks lived in the mystical oasis rightfully named Shambhala. _

_In secret, each of these races practice and learn their bending from one another as time progresses. It's taught the same way martial arts are taught across the world: through the demonstration of a form as the other mimics it. Plenty of self-discipline and breathing exercises are required. _

_All bending is so understandable that even if someone does not bend the same element, each stance can be adopted to mold the world around a person; they merely need to be shown how do so. Every bending master left in the world takes pupils under their wings and teaches them the style of defense and creation through the power of chi and art of bending._

_But there is so little of these individuals left… A majority of man has forgotten the art, but there are still individuals whom have had to teach themselves._

_This is where our story starts: in the current world, year 2009 A.D., in __Gaoling__, China. Here we meet an earthbending master that is barely stepping into womanhood and yet can control not only the dirt under her toes or the pebbles in her yard, but the very metal that makes up half the things in her city._

* * *

"Toph, sweetie, did you get into your dress yet?" a rich young mother called through the door of her only daughter's bedroom. "The guests will be arriving soon, I hope you realize."

"Yeah, yeah; I know, I know," the girl retorted with an indignant sigh.

"Do you need my help?" her mother asked. "I could come in there and –"

"No, I can do it myself," the willful girl replied. "Go back downstairs with father." She heard her mother walk away on the wooden floorboards in the hallway. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't slip on a dress you so clearly laid out for me," she grumbled as soon as her mother was out of earshot. Her expression softened. "Not that you care. You're so protective."

Her name was Toph Bei Fong. She was stubborn and independent, her spirit even more unbreakable than that of a wild horse. She was tough physically, and sarcastic. She made dry humored jokes that no one understood, and was kept a secret from most of the society around her. And she hated that fact.

With a blow at the black bangs hanging over her face, Toph picked up the dress from her bed and felt for the sash on it she knew was tied in a large bow in back. She stepped into the dress when she was sure it was facing the correct way. Toph pulled it up her slender, muscular legs and slipped her arms through the holes. She fumbled with the zipper on the side, but with one grunt paired with a sharp tug, she was able to get it to the top. She tied the sash around her waist, just under her tiny breasts.

Reluctantly, Toph stepped into her wooden sandals, the parted socks pinching the tong of the sandal between her toes. She hated shoes. With shoes on, it was like wearing earmuffs: everything was muffled, quieter.

You see, this girl was an earthbender. With earthbending, you become attached to the earth around you to the point where you can feel every vibration and map out the lay of the land in your head from simply _feeling_. Being blind, this is the only thing Toph relied on to 'see' besides listening with her ears like any other blind person would do.

"Time to do my hair," Toph said in a mocking tone. She felt her way to her dresser where a brush, a comb, a ribbon, and a pair of chopsticks waited for her. The chunky shoes on her feet made terrible clopping noises as she made her way to the dresser. She picked up the delicately made jadestone hairbrush and brushed back her long bangs (which she preferred to hang in her eyes, but her parents refused to let her do because they 'wanted to see her pretty face') and lifted the silky length of her hair in back, bringing the entire thing upwards in a big swooping bun. She tied it off with the ribbon and stuck the chopsticks in to hold it all in place and to decorate her hair more.

She felt utterly idiotic in that fancy, horribly girly way.

Dressing up always was a thorn in her side, ever since she was a little girl. She was merely thirteen, so not much has changed, but that's the part that really gets her goat: _nothing_ haschanged. Her parents still babied her and never considered her opinion or wants. And what Toph truly wanted was to break free.

"One day I'll get out of here," she murmured sadly to the nearly fully grown pet panda she had snoozing in it's bed in the corner. He was the only known panda to be a pet in history that was, of 'course, legally acquired as an orphan about to be given to a zoo.

Toph picked up the blush on her dresser and absently applied it to her cheeks the way her mother taught her. She even added some eye shadow with her fingertips, hoping it didn't look too messy.

"I'll run away and find someone else to be with besides my parents. It'd be a lot easier that way. I can't go it alone, but it'd be nice to be somewhere else. You can come with me, Hei Bai," she added in the panda's direction. Sighing, she placed a headband in her hair that felt like butter and grass, yellow and green like the rest of her dress. It was time to face her mysterious 'guests'. She hardly considered them as such; to Toph, they were unwanted visitors. Sure, she longed to meet children her own age, but that was all; she didn't want to meet random grown-ups.

Toph had that talent, too: she could tell what color something was by feeling it. She picked this trait up when her mother was listing off the colors of the dresses she bought, and later Toph went in a felt each one. Every color feels different if you pay enough attention to it. They also smell different. For example: blue smelled vaguely minty and felt cooler than the rest, like water. Or red: red was warm like the blush on someone's face, and smelled of copper, like blood. She disliked red for this reason. Black was dark and ghostly, like charcoal in a fireplace. It smelled burnt, too. And orange was sunny and reminded Toph of tangerines. Pink was the hardest to feel, but it felt like a sunset or a sunrise. It was the easiest to smell, though; it held the scent of cherry blossom trees.

There were more colors, so many more; there were even some colors that Toph didn't have a name for. But colors were the best part of her blind world because – despite the fact that she couldn't visualize them the way sighted people can – she enjoyed the feel and smell of them. They were the highlight of her empty-sighted days.

Carefully, Toph maneuvered down the stairs and came into the dining room where her mother's cook resided. The cook was a thieving, sneaky girl by the name of Jun, but Toph liked her. They were alike in the manner that they manipulated and teased people, as well as the way they made sarcastic jokes. Jun was an intimidating beauty with fiery dark eyes, raven colored hair, and tattoos on her arms. She wasn't much of a cook, but that's not why she was hired; secretly, she was hired for her keen senses of tracking people. Jun was closely related to the bounty hunters of yore, people who could track other people. Toph's parents hired her so she could keep an eye on their daughter in case something happened to her. Jun naturally accepted such a job because of the wealth of the Bei Fong family, but as time went by she grew a sort of fondness for the blind girl, the type of fondness one might develop if they adopted a child. After all, Jun was with Toph a greater percentage of the day than her own parents were.

"Ready for another night full of stuffy rich folks, kiddo?" Jun asked with a smirk on her face.

"Tch, as ready as I'll ever be," Toph scoffed. She sighed and sunk against one of the kitchen counters, her elbows supporting her weight. "I wish my parents would let up on this bull crap," she gestured with one hand, "We all know what'll happen in the end."

Jun chuckled. "You mean you'll freak the guests into silence when you're parents are washing up before dessert by performing a little rock show for them?"

"Exactly," Toph smirked. "It's always more fun when they run away and my parents return with confused looks on their faces."

"Are you never going to tell them about your bending?" Jun inquired in a whisper.

Toph shook her head. "Nah, I don't think they could take knowing that their daughter is one of the benders. The race is supposed to be extinct, after all." She paused. "At least, that's what my tutor tells me."

Toph had a college professor as a personal tutor; her parents kept her such a secret that she wasn't even allowed to attend public school. So a man by the name of Xang came five days a week to teach Toph the studies of the world. His personal favorite to teach her was of deserts, specifically Egypt. The favored tale he told was about a wise Egyptian god that resembled an owl, whom had a different name in China: Won Shi Tong.

None of it interested Toph very much. What interested her was, of all things, a Disney movie called Aladdin. In the movie, there is a princess named Jasmine who is not allowed passed the palace gates, just like Toph. In the movie, Jasmine gets tired of it and one day sneaks out in disguise.

Toph tried that not once, but numerous times. So far she hasn't been caught. Jun didn't even bother to track her; in fact, she went against what she was hired for and _helped_ Toph escape, at least for a little while. On her minute adventures, Toph encountered strange people, some of which were earthbenders like her. They run an underground Lei Tai tournament, which is like a sort of wrestling match; only they fight with rocks instead of brawn.

This was how Toph discovered that she was a master: she was able to beat all these older, buff men without battling an eyelash. It made her a bit arrogant over time, but it became fuel for her rebellious nature.

"I need to leave again tonight," she told Jun, "After I scare the guests away. Can you help me?"

"When have I not?" Jun winked. "Just be in here with your coat on, and I'll know."

Toph smiled. "Thanks," she muttered as she teetered off the edge of the chair and thumped loudly onto the cold floor. Her shoes made a weird cracking noise that caused her to scrunch her nose. How she _despised_ shoes…

So she kicked away her shoes and tore off her socks. Jun sent her a strange, raised eyebrow expression. Toph heard the pause and explained lamely: "They broke."

Jun shrugged. "Hope your parents don't mind you running around barefoot… again."

"They can deal with it," Toph harrumphed.

The earthbender left the kitchen and headed for the dining hall. Her parents sat at the table, their guests opposite them. Toph took her place near her mother, Poppy, whom was at her rightful place at the right-hand side of her husband, Lao.

Jun came in a few minutes later with the first course, a load of appetizers all related to seafood in some way or another. Next there was some soup, and then the main course. And finally…

"Excuse us," Lao said politely, "But my wife and I are going to freshen up before dessert. You are free to do the same."

The guests nodded lightly and smiled, preparing to get out of their seats while Poppy and Lao disappeared around the corner and into the hallway.

"Would you like some entertainment first? I'd like to show you some of the southern praying mantis style martial arts my sifu taught me recently," Toph said sweetly, her usual 'poor, innocent, helplessly blind me' act set in motion.

Immediately, the couple – like all the guests who were lucky and rich enough to meet her – softened and sat back down. "Oh, yes, darling; we would love to see what you have learned!" the woman of the two guests said. Her husband simply stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Toph inwardly smirked, stood from her seat, and turned towards the sliding glass door that led to the back yard. "Follow me, please; this is best done where the ground is softer," she lied. In truth, it was done best where the ground was _solid rock_.

The man and woman stood on the porch while Toph got into a broad-legged stance. She slowly raised her arms, bent at the elbows like a praying mantis's frontal green weapons, and then quickly pounded them to the wide of her body as though she were hitting an invisible brick wall. Four blocks of rock shot up from the ground and flew around in the air before being sent forcefully into a bamboo grove. Young bamboo snapped in half while the older, fully grown bamboo splintered into a billion pieces.

The woman behind Toph screamed and fainted into her husband's arms. The husband himself was shock still for a few moments, his eyes widened and his mouth agape. As soon as he recovered, he carried his wife out the front door with panic in his shrieks.

Laughing to herself, Toph walked over to the bamboo grove and picked up the broken bamboo shoots as a snack for Hei Bai. She placed the rocks back in their holes from the ground, and then went up to her room to deliver the meal to her pet.

When she returned from her bedroom, her parents were asking the servants and looking awestruck over what happened to their guests. "Why did they leave without dessert? It's downright rude," Lao huffed.

Poppy nodded her head in agreement. She looked down at her daughter. "Poor baby… They just left you without warning, didn't they?" she cooed and she bent down to hold her precious baby.

Toph rolled her foggy, light green eyes and put on another façade. "Yes; why did they do that, mother? I didn't even know they left until I heard the door slam shut," she whined dramatically. "Maybe we should give up on these dinners… they never end well," she told her parents, hoping that they'd listen to her for once.

"No, we must keep up the Bei Fong reputation," her father replied. "However, if this continues, we may have to do exactly that, Toph." Lao looked at the clock. "It's nearly your bedtime, little lady. Perhaps you should start getting ready."

"Yes!" Toph hissed under her breath gleefully once her mother released her. Although it was a moot point now; she wasn't going to stay around for that to happen, even though she had been trying to cease the chain of dinners with strangers for who knows how long. To her father in a louder tone, she replied, "You're right. Goodnight," she said as she turned for the stairs.

Poppy smiled. "Goodnight, sweetie."

* * *

The grandfather clock in the foyer chimed twelve. Toph woke with a start at the noise and rubbed her eyes. Tossing off her sheets, she hopped onto the floor and hurried to her window. Her bag was just below, safely on the ground. She thrust her hands upwards, a rock propelling the bag to her hands. She fumbled for it, and finally caught hold of one of the leather straps. She knew leather was brown like the soil of the earth, tanned from the sun like a rock and smelling like whatever it's touched. Toph slid the strap over her head and onto her shoulder, ready to leave.

As quietly as she could, the earthbender crept to her sleeping panda. She shook him awake, and he yawned loudly. "Shh," she hushed as she stroked between his eyes. Scratching one of the rounded black ears, she whispered to him: "It's time to go, Hei Bai. Let me ride on your back."

The panda grunted and got onto his four great paws, the filed claws scraping idly on the wooden floor. Toph carefully climbed on. The warmth of Hei Bai's body heat compared to the chilly night air gave her goosebumps.

The blind girl clung to the panda's fur with all her strength for fear of slipping off. She could barely see a think this far off of the ground; it's bad enough when she's on wood, but being this far away from completely solid, nonliving surfaces made Toph uneasy. She might as well be flying in the air!

"Let's go," she coaxed. Hei Bai padded out of her room and down into the entranceway. Toph tapped her hands along the wall until she found the hooks where all their coats are kept. Her black cloak – normally used for rainy days as a parka and as means to hide her from prying eyes – was on the very end, hidden behind the silky fabric of her mother's scarf.

Toph threw it on and nudged her pet's left hindquarter, telling it to go into the kitchen a ways away. As she entered, she hopped off of her pet, happy to find her feet meeting tile, one of the closest things to the naked earth. "Jun," Toph called lowly.

"Over here, kiddo."

Toph walked toward the voice and grinned. "I'm leaving for real this time, you know."

"I know."

"Did you write the letter I told you to?"

"I did."

"Thanks for everything, Jun," Toph said with heart. She lightly punched Jun in the tattooed arm; a show of affection.

"Take care, Blind Bandit." The other woman said softly as she tapped the blind girl on the nose.

Toph batted her hand away. "Hey, I told you not to call me by my wresting name while in the house," she teased.

Jun laughed without much sound. "Yeah, well…"

Toph smiled once more, took the package of food Jun held out (which was meant to last a week), the bag of money Jun stole from the family fund meant for college for the her, was handed the family seal stamped passport, and then was on her way.

"Bye, Jun; don't forget to meet up with me later when they send you out to find me!"

"I won't, kid!" Jun called back.

And that was the last Toph saw of Jun for a very, very long time.

It was also the last moment of her old life. For, now, Toph was out to see the world and find whatever she could. She knew she would be safe out in the elements; she was a master earthbender, after all.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter features Katara and Sokka, as well as mentions of Yue.**


	2. Moving was Difficult

**A/N: As vash3055 pointed out: No, there will NOT be an avatar. In this AU, I have no need for "spirit mumbo-jumbo" (as Toph calls it), so there won't be any. Aang is merely an airbender, but that's reason enough for Z- ...I mean... _someone _to come after him. You'll see. ;P**

* * *

Alaska was the best place to practice her waterbending. She never wanted to leave snowy Alaska; Juneau was lovely, despite popular belief. The skies were blue-grey, the ocean was crisply icy, and the animal life was entertaining to say the least.

Her name was Katara. She was a waterbender that learned everything she knew from her grandfather, Pakku. He was one of the last masters in the water element, but he made a very strict teacher… at first. Underneath his tough exterior was a much warmer man melted from his icy demeanor by Kana, otherwise known as: "Gran-gran!" Katara hollered as she entered her home. "Is it true we're moving?!"

Sokka, her elder brother, told her all about their father's new post. He was in the army, so Katara's family moved around a lot. Ever since her mother died, her father had been working double time to take care of his children financially. It stressed Sokka out; he looked at things rather pessimistically, and saw each new move as more work. He wasn't lazy, but Sokka wasn't too accustomed to change. Katara tried to see things positively, and thought of each move as something beneficial, but this time she sided with her brother: she did not want to move away from Juneau. She loved all the water, snow, and ice around her that she could bend. Plus, Gran-gran and Pakku were here, her only other family besides her father and brother…

"Yes, Katara, I'm afraid that it's true," Kana admitted with a sigh.

"But…" the waterbender murmured, her resolve fading. "Can't we stay with you?"

"You wouldn't ant your father to be all alone, would you?"

"No, but –"

"Then you have to move, Katara. It'll be for the best, you'll see. You'll meet new people, and who knows? Maybe find a boy…" the old woman teased gently, trying to get her granddaughter to smile.

It worked. Katara smiled, her teeth hiding behind her lips but her eyes glittering all the same. "You always know how to lay my doubts to rest, Gran-gran." She embraced the gentle old woman and exhaled loudly when she let go. "Although I can't make any promises about a boy."

Gran-gran chuckled. "We'll see, my dear, we'll see."

Later that night, following a meal of pickled fish, Katara lay in her bed with a pencil eraser in her mouth and a journal in her lap. She made faces down at the blank page, not sure what to write. A knock struck her door, startling her. "Come in," she said after a second.

"Hey Katara, it's me," Sokka stated as he entered.

"I figured as much," she muttered in reply. She set her book and writing utensil off to the side. "What's up?"

Her brother came in and sat backwards in Katara's desk chair. His brown hair was out of it's usual ponytail (although he preferred to call it a 'warrior's wolftail', which was much more cultural and manly-sounding). His hair matched Katara's; it was the same shade, same thickness, and same the texture like all of their family. They all had the same beautiful blue eyes and tan Inuit skin as well.

"Packing, that's what's up. Dad has to be moved a bit sooner, apparently." Sokka delivered the message as calmly as possible, his expression sullen.

"How soon is 'soon'?" Katara asked nervously as she swallowed hard. Did she have no time left to say her goodbyes? Where they leaving in the morning, or the day after tomorrow?

"At the end of the week instead of the end of the month," Sokka sighed. He crossed his arms and laid his chin on them. "I really don't want to go," he confessed. "I like it here. Plus, I have Yue; how can I leave her? I love her, Katara. I'm only sixteen, but I know it's true. Do you have any idea how it feels? I'm almost afraid… Because I know it's impossible to keep up a proper long-distance relationship, so I'm afraid that she'll have some other guy come along and sweep her off her feet. A real stuck-up jerk who doesn't love her like I do, you know?"

Katara patted her brother's arm. "I miss the joking Sokka." She earned a short laugh from him. "Don't worry about it, okay? Everything will be all right. You'll see, Sokka, something will happen that we've never expected. I can't imagine your feelings at the moment, but I can feel that much. Think of it as… one last adventure before Dad retires." She winked for added effect.

Sokka straightened up a bit. "Yeah… Yeah, okay! An adventure. Something… _thrilling_."

"That's right. Now get out of here, you big lug! I have writing to do." She grinned as she pushed playfully on his chest.

Sokka chuckled and pushed her hand away. "Sure, sis. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Sokka," she hummed idly. She turned on some music on a low volume. "Now then…" she thought aloud to herself as she tapped her pencil against the page. "What's a good opening line for a haiku?"

"Did I hear the word 'haiku'?" Sokka sing-songed, his head popping back into the room. "I could –"

"No." Katara said sternly. "I don't want you and your rapping haikus interfering with my grade in writing class."

"Aw… you really know how to deflate a guy's ego, Katara." He said with a mimed prick with an imaginary needle to his ego-inflated balloon-head.

"Go to bed, Sokka," the waterbender said with a swirl of her pencil. "Stop bugging me."

"Fine, fine, I'm going…" he said defensively. He turned to her with a smile before he officially left. "Just don't forget to use the five-seven-five syllable scheme. Don't make the mistake I do sometimes by adding six syllables on the last line."

"I'll make a mental sticky note of that."

"A bright lime green sticky note so you don't forget," Sokka added with a chuckle. Then he disappeared into the hallway. He shut Katara's door behind him.

Shaking her head, Katara yawned and tried to think, but ended up falling asleep with the pencil still in her hand, the collective weight of the multiple news today plus school and outside chores causing her to collapse from exhaustion.

* * *

Now, Katara was not a popular girl. She wasn't unpopular, either. She was your average chipper spirit whom was there for people who needed her and a mother figure for her brother since Gran-gran can't do it all and be with them wherever they go.

She was also easily tempered and less easygoing than her older brother. While packing the last of her personals after having thrown out a boatload of things ("I'm tired of hauling around all this stuff! I don't need it anymore, and don't pull that 'keepsake' crap on me, because the only keepsake I need is mother's necklace!"), she grew steadily frustrated. The suitcase was too small and some of her clothes were too full of down feathers and such to be salvaged. The waterbender sighed and removed the biggest of her winter coats. "It's not going to be needed where we're going, anyhow," she muttered to herself as she tossed it in the garbage bag she was given for things headed for Good Will. Sokka was more about efficiency than she was, even with his little shopping problem (unlike most boys, Sokka liked to shop for new things).

"Ready, Katara?" Sokka asked as he walked into her room.

She wiped sweat from her brow. "I guess so." She sighed exasperatedly. "Did you say goodbye to Yue?"

Sokka sniffed, and on further inspection his sister could tell that he'd been crying. "Yeah. She was real heartbroken, but she said, 'It's for the best.'" He paused. "I broke up with her, Katara. I want her to be happy, and I think having someone else in my stead while I'm gone will do exactly that."

Katara's facial expression fell into the category of 'Aww, you poor thing!' as she moved in to hug the sixteen-year-old. "You were right to do that, Sokka. It was very mature of you."

"Mhm," Sokka mumbled weakly. He held his sister for a second the way a son would hold his mother for comfort before releasing her. "Well, uh, we better get this in the moving van." He motioned to her dresser.

Katara nodded, her take-charge attitude kicking in. "Right. Help me carry it, will you?"

"How are you kids doing?" Hakoda inquired. He looked his kids over. "Need some help with that dresser?"

"No, we can handle it, Dad," Sokka said automatically. Lately he'd been feeling the need to prove to his father his strength; it's that competitive feeling teenaged boys get as they begin to come of age and compare themselves to their fathers. So far, Hakoda's part in the U.S. Navy was whooping Sokka's competitive nature's arse.

It took many trips to and from the house to load the moving van until it was full. Then, with one last look at Gran-gran and Pakku standing side by side, Katara put on her headphones and looked out the front windshield at the road ahead.

* * *

"Wake up, you two; we just passed over the boarder from Canada into the U.S.," Hakoda told his children.

Katara stretched, her arms reaching over her head and behind her back, over one shoulder and then the other. "How much longer?"

Sokka rubbed his eyes and wiped a line of drool from his chin. "So what state are we in?"

"Washington," Hakoda replied to his son. "And we won't be in Colorado for some time, my little ice Popsicle," he added to answer his daughter's question. He referred to her as an icicle to poke fun at one of her favorite things to make when waterbending: ice pops.

Hakoda wasn't the type to get overly affectionate; he more or less gave a hug or two and a few pats on the head or playful smacks on the back like his son does from time to time, and the only nicknames he usually gave were to people he's befriended (whereas Sokka gave them to just about anyone he encountered, especially if he didn't know their name). Hakoda joked when the moment called for it, but can be extremely serious and became the soldier he was. He was a straightforward kind of guy, and an idea man. His son was the same way. They were a lot alike; it seemed the genes in the family passed down by gender, because Katara was a spitting image of her mother and Sokka was a chip off the old block.

Now, it might seem like a fairy-tale-perfect family, but there were still secrets. Like how their mother died; Sokka and Katara were never told. And Pakku hadn't always been with Kana; he was a high school sweetheart that came back after Kana's husband left her. There were teeny things here and there like that. It made Katara feel small compared to everyone, as though she couldn't assist a single family member of hers.

"If you want, you can go back to sleep," their father said. "We have a ways to go yet."

"I'm not tired anymore," both of them said in unison, Sokka's reply said as more of a shrug, while Katara's was stated stubbornly. The unison caused Hakoda to burst into laughter. The two siblings exchanged weird looks before submitting to laughter themselves.

"How about a potty break?" he asked.

Sokka's stomach growled. "And a food one, too. I have a hankering for gas station Slim Jims."

Katara rolled her eyes. "What is it with you and meat? I swear, you always get beef jerky or a Slim Jim when we stop for snacks on trips."

"What? Meat is tasty," Sokka said in his defense. "Besides, you're not much of a vegetarian yourself, little miss fish-lover."

"Fish technically isn't meat, you know; Jesus ate fish but no other animals," Katara retorted as she crossed her arms.

Sokka threw his hands up in the air. "Oh, right… How could I forget the Bible references?" He shook his head. "Dad, where's the nearest gas station?"

"There's one coming up in ten minutes," Hakoda replied, deciding not to comment on their tiny spat.

After five-going-one-six dreary hours in the car with it smelling of Slim Jims and cheddar/sour cream potato chips, mountains grew to enormous sizes and the moving van pulled into a neighborhood.

"Are we finally here?" Katara bubbled.

"We are," their father replied.

"Hey Dad, you never explained why we're in Colorado and not near somewhere with water, seeing as how you're in the navy and all." Sokka remarked as they parked in a driveway – _their new driveway_.

"Well," Hakoda said slowly, "Maybe I'm not in the navy anymore…"

Katara frowned and cocked her head. "Huh?"

Hakoda forced a smile. "I got promoted, I guess you could say. I'm standing in a different position in the U.S. military with this move."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "Wow, Dad! That's awesome! Are there more benefits?"

"I said it was a promotion, didn't I?" he winked. "So, yeah; a lot more. We'll be living a lot better now, kids, and that I can promise you. The only problem is…"

"Problem?" Sokka echoed.

"What problem, Dad?" Katara questioned.

"…I won't be able to see you kids as often." He told them sadly.

"No!" Katara cried, her eyes watering. She blinked her tears away. "But you're all we have, Dad!"

"What if something happens to you?" Sokka added. "I don't think I can stand to lose another parent."

"Shh," Hakoda hushed as he brought his children to his chest. "There's nothing to worry about. I still get holidays off for about a week, although I have to work on Easter. Don't worry, this is a good thing."

Sokka grunted and glanced out the window at their new home, so dark… so empty. "That's what everyone keeps telling me, but so far I don't see the silver lining."

Changing the subject, Hakoda gestured to the load behind them. "Let's get our bedding and unpack in the morning."

Katara silently agreed and hopped out of the car door.

Suddenly, she wanted to leave. She wanted to run back all the way to Alaska where she belonged. Not caring if any neighbor saw her (she doubted they would, anyway; it's pretty late in the night), the young waterbender picked up some lingering snow off the ground and spun it high above her head. It rained beads of ice, perfectly smooth, and then the bits of hail melted all over the grass. Katara knew why they had to move, and she understands why her father will have to see them less, and yet with all her comprehension she still felt like it wasn't fair. She felt angry and sad, and a slightly hurt. Sokka was dealing with the same feelings in his own way, but with less anger. Katara knew her brother had to leave Yue, but it's not the same. With so much of her element missing from all around her, Katara felt utterly lost, as though a piece of herself was left at Juneau.

With one last whip of water that broke a branch from a nearby tree in half, Katara stormed over to their moving van and took out her blankets and pillows. She returned minutes later to carry (with Sokka's help) her mattress, which she proceeded to lay out on the floor of the bedroom she chose for herself.

Lying down on the thrown-together bed, Katara sighed and murmured incoherent things to herself. One of the murmurings resembled, 'I can't wait until Thanksgiving break when we visit Gran-gran again.'

Opposite her in one room over, Sokka was tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in. So far, he failed lying on his back, his left side, his right side, and on his stomach. But there wasn't much left to try… So he went with a diagonal pose on his back with his legs propped up by his pillow and his head lying on the mattress.

And that was how he fell asleep, pictures of scenery and Yue flying through his head.

Katara never quite went to sleep, however. Not entirely.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------


	3. Honorable

**A/N: It's so easy writing Zuko's past; making things "similar-but-different for modern times" is what I'm best at. :3**

* * *

He had a name. He also had a scar. Which people thought of first when they saw him, he could only guess. It seemed Japan's center around appearances (thanks to animes and the like) caused them to see his scar first. And the first thing he knew they asked themselves was: 'How did he get such a scar?'

The truth was, Ozai didn't appreciate Zuko. Quite the opposite: the man abused his son. Not often, and not too severely, and more verbally than physically, but one time – yes, one lone time – was all it took for the abuse to show.

It was a sort of 'take your child to work' day, but by choice. Iroh, Zuko's uncle and Ozai's elder brother by quite a few years, allowed Zuko to come to work with him to show him the ropes, since Zuko was destined to take on a job in this company like the rest of his family. Iroh even let him sit in a big meeting with other companies, with Ozai at the head of the table, since he was the president of the entire corporation.

While listening to the discussion flinging across the table from one man to the next, Zuko began to understand something: what these companies were doing was wrong. They were going to create a giant conspiracy and rob helpless people of whatever money they have.

It was when a man named Zhao said, "…And then there's nothing left to do but lead them to their own financial destruction, with us raking in the profits," that Zuko could stand it no longer.

He was fourteen years old. Merely fourteen, but so very wise. "You can't do that!" he said as he leapt to his feet. "Those people work hard for their money, and some of them barely get by from paycheck to paycheck! You can't steal their only chance at living for your own personal gain… that's just wrong!"

Angry with his son, Ozai told him he'd discuss Zuko's outbreak later that night at dinner.

Ursa was cooking a lovely red curry with shrimp. She was in a tired but calm mood, and didn't have any idea as to what happened earlier that day in the meeting room. She served the food, which was normally their servants' job.

You see, Zuko was from a very rich family, one of the richest in Japan, their family business being the source. A man named Azulon, whom was Ozai's father, last owned it. Zuko's family consisted of four people: Ozai, his father, Ursa, his mother, and Azula, his sister. Two of the family members were identical in action, both being manipulative and cruel: Azula and Ozai. Whereas Ursa was a loving, caring woman who let her servants go home to spend time with their families at dinnertime, and was very protective of her son. But she knew there was selfishness in her daughter's eyes and even though she loved him, the same selfishness in her husband's eyes.

That night she saw deep hatred in his eyes, and became cautious after they said a quick prayer before they ate. "What's wrong, dear? You seem tense," she commented.

"Oh, I'm very tense," Ozai retorted in a low voice.

"It's because of what I did, isn't it?" Zuko dared to ask.

"Ooh, what did you do now, Zuzu?" Azula questioned.

"Wouldn't you like to know, _Zulu_?" Zuko snapped in her direction before looking back at his father.

"Sweetie, what's going on?" Ursa asked her son. "What did you do?"

"I said some things at some big meeting," Zuko huffed as he crossed his arms. His childish face gave the impression that he regretted every word he said at the time. "And father didn't like it." He was forced to call Ozai 'father' in his presence.

Ursa cocked her head at her son. Then she turned her eyes on the man she married. "What is he talking about, Ozai?"

"It doesn't matter," Ozai replied lowly. He rose from his seat. "I'll talk to him about his punishment after dinner. See me in he courtyard when you're done eating, boy."

"Zuko's in _trou~ble_," Azula sang, her golden brown eyes alight with an inner fire. She was merely thirteen at the time.

"Azula, that's enough." Her mother said sternly. "Zuko, darling, you don't have to go meet with your father… I'm sure you're sorry for what you've said, and I think that's enough."

"No, Mom," the young Zuko contradicted. "I have to face him. I wasn't wrong in that I said, although I probably shouldn't have said it with Dad there."

Ursa looked worried but nodded her head. "I'll watch from the window just in case," she whispered in her son's ear. She knew her husband had something to drink, and might be buzzed. And this fact worried her; it was when he was nearly or wholly drunk that he got the most violent.

After dinner, Zuko trudged to the courtyard. The sun was low in the sky, nearly gone. All that was left was a speck of deep orange and a clouded sky full of pinks, purples, and blues. It was beautiful, and any other day Zuko would admire it with his mother, but not this evening.

"You dishonored me at that meeting," Ozai began. He stopped his son from walking any closer. He changed subjects. "Do you know what an Agni Kai is?"

"An ancient duel between firebenders," Zuko replied automatically. This was a trivia fact he learned from Iroh. All of Zuko's family was firebenders, with the exception of his mother since she married into the fire-blooded line. Iroh still liked to tell of firebending history, and Ozai proved the myths into fact with demonstration. Little did Zuko know that this time, the demonstration could be fatal.

"Good," Ozai replied with that false lead that he accepts whoever he was talking to. In this case, his first-born son. "Then I assume you know the rules," he continued as he faced the other way. "Firebenders would crouch down, traditionally without shirts and with capes draped over them. Then they would turn about-face and bow to one another before firing off the first round of flames. They would battle until one was left lying on their back either dead or too exhausted or wounded to fight. It was a very honorable practice," he added.

"I don't understand; why are you bringing this up, father?" Zuko remarked.

Ozai turned around in a flash and sent a look that gave Zuko the chills. "Because you are going to fight me, son, and thereby become a man. If you're man enough to speak out of term in a conference, then you are man enough to fight me. So let's go, one-on-one: Agni Kai."

Zuko's eyes brimmed with tears and he fell to his knees. "No, no, I can't do that, father… I refuse to fight you. I'm sorry I said what I did, I didn't mean it! I am your loyal son."

"Stand up and fight me, Zuko," Ozai slurred as he stepped closer. "Do it, or I will not hold back; you will get _burned_."

"No, father, please! I'm sorry!"

Then all he heard was the roar of an open flame.

* * *

Zuko still remembered the searing pain, and still remembered the well of blood and sting of scorched flesh. He remembered the scent of burnt hair and the blisters with the puss, as well as the weeks it took for him to heal. Most of all, he remembered how Iroh visited him in the hospital and took care of him afterwards.

"This came from your father," Iroh said sadly one night.

A large white patch blinded Zuko in his left eye. Still, he saw the letter Iroh had in his hands and he took it from him. "What does it say?" he asked as he opened it, the seal already broken.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid."

Zuko blinked at his uncle and then read the letter. It recalled with poisonous wording that Zuko was banished from his household. He was to never return because his failures disgusted his father so. But, the letter read, if Zuko found an Airbender and delivered him to his father, then he could take his rightful place as CEO of the company when he was older.

"But… I thought airbenders were extinct?" Zuko murmured.

"No one knows for sure," Iroh told his nephew as he poured two cups of mint tea. "After all, firebenders aren't known and yet we exist."

"Why an airbender, though? Why not a waterbender, or an earthbender?"

Iroh looked into Zuko's golden eyes. Everyone in their family had the same brown eyes so light and fiery they appeared gold. "Most likely because my brother doesn't think you can find one. He's trying to trick you."

"So what? I bet I could find an airbender. There has to be one out there somewhere. I don't know what use an airbender can have to my dad, but I'm willing to do anything to go home again."

Iroh sighed. "If that's what you're choosing to do, then I'll help you. I can't leave you, a thirteen you old boy, alone to face the world."

"But Uncle, you have your job –"

Iroh chuckled. "It doesn't matter. I have enough money to retire; I've only been going to work to keep an eye on my power-hungry younger brother. I'm not losing anything by helping you."

Zuko smiled vaguely. "Thank you, Uncle."

Iroh exhaled and ran a hand over his beard. "But I doubt it'll be easy to find someone like that; after all, we try to keep our firebending a secret, so I'm sure any other bender would do the same. And all of us are people, so it's not like you can pick out what one might look like."

Zuko shrugged. "We'll find one, I just know it. I'm determined to gain back the respect I lost with my father."

Iroh nodded slowly, not actually agreeing with Zuko's decision. But the old man knew Zuko had to go through his own trials and tribulations to learn for himself the ways of the world.

"Zuko, there's something else in this envelope," Iroh said suddenly. He withdrew a small slip of lined paper from a journal. "It's… signed by your mother," he said slowly.

Zuko snatched it from Iroh's hands and looked it over. His visible eye filled with tears. "She says she tried to protect me, and stopped father from nearly killing me. But she says he was furious with her, and divorced her. So now she's moving to the United States, and wants me to come find her." He wiped his eye. "That's good news."

"Is it? But now you're family is split into two," Iroh pointed out.

"Yeah, but at least my mom was able to escape. And I can go find her while I look for this airbender."

Iroh sighed. "Whatever you want to do, nephew."

* * *

Three years have passed since then, and Zuko turned seventeen. He's searched for an airbender in Japan, India, and most of Europe. He was timid when it came to China, and he hadn't yet tried the United States. He wanted to try to find the airbender before he looked for his mother, although searching in general was difficult. He had to learn English just to communicate with a few people across the world, but not everyone. Zuko couldn't learn more than one language, either; it was hard enough learning English. So that's where Iroh stepped in to speak Spanish, translate Italian, commune in French and German and convince Zuko that he could take on any Chinese person and uphold a conversation with them as well.

"We all know you're a great linguist, Uncle; you don't need to keep proving it." Zuko scowled, the years of 'banishment' making him grow cranky and impatient.

Iroh chuckled. "Alright, I'll stop showing off."

Zuko and his uncle had a strange relationship, a one in which one tried to advise while the other ignored it, and yet they acted as close as father and son when they were in the right moment. This was not one of them.

"Maybe it's time we head for the States," Zuko sighed. "I don't think there's much left here."

"No, not yet," Iroh replied. "Let's go to China and Russia first. We nee to finish up the East before we head for the West, don't you think?"

"Fine," Zuko grumbled. "And if the U.S. fails us, then there's always South America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand." He sighed. "Where in the world could an airbender be?"

"Perhaps he's not on Earth at on, but instead up in a plane," Iroh joked.

"Stop it, Uncle. You're not helping."

"I apologize."

Zuko stared at the airport in the distance. His squinted, red-ringed eye softened as his other brown sunk. "I guess it's the only way. To China, then."

* * *

It was a rough flight. The turbulence was brutal and the flight attendants were scared out of their wits. The passengers – aside from Zuko and Iroh – were panicked and huddled low in their seats with fear and shaking nerves. Zuko hardened to a block of stone and Iroh sipped his quivering cup of tea and waited it out.

On arrival, Zuko never felt further from home, even though Europe was technically farther away from Japan than China. Still. The scenery was widespread and magnificent, much different than the cramped space of Japan and ital and the other places he had seen in his travels thus far.

"Uncle… what part of China are we in?" he asked quietly.

"We're just outside of Kashgar," Iroh replied.

"We better start looking," Zuko hissed under his breath.

"Shouldn't we rest and plan things out, Zuko?" Iroh said calmly.

"I can't stand being away from home, Uncle. The sooner we find this airbender, the better."

"He only banished you from his house, Zuko. You can still go back to Japan." Iroh mentioned.

"It's not the same," Zuko said softly. "Plus, Japan is so small I'm bound to see him or he'll see me, and… and I don't want…" He paused. "What if he really kills me the next time, Uncle? I have no choice but to find this airbender and save myself from his wrath."

Iroh shook his heads sadly, but didn't argue the matter. "Let's rest before we go searching. It'll do you good."

"Since you probably won't stop bothering me about it until we do, then fine. I don't trust big city hotels, though. Let's journey on a ways to a smaller village." Zuko reasoned.

"Fine by me," Iroh shrugged. "So long as I get to lay down these old bones," he added mournfully. Zuko rolled his eyes with an 'uhg' sound escaping his mouth.

They walked on for a couple miles until they stumbled on a humble inn. The innkeeper gave them one teeny room to spare, and they accepted it. The beds were surprisingly comfortable, but even so, Zuko couldn't sleep.

He got up from his bed and heard his uncle snoring a few feet from him. He went to the window and stared up at the stars. They seemed… closer than they did in Japan or Europe. They seemed even closer in Sweden and Poland, but it was more peaceful here. He didn't know why he was so reluctant to come to China; it's not so bad here.

Outside, there was a sudden crash that sounded like rock upon rock. Startled, Zuko lit a flame in his hand and held it like a lantern out the window. "Who's there?" he barked in a low tone so not to wake his uncle.

Silence followed, but Zuko's hearing was pretty acute. He hopped onto the windowsill and jumped to the ground. Dust collected at his feet, and at first he thought nothing of it. But then the flame in his palm went out as the dust became a flood of dirt that pulled him down.

Earthbenders. It had to be earthbenders.

"I said, who's there!" Zuko called out louder, although he kept his volume in check, still weary of waking his uncle.

"Will you keep it down?" came a voice. Someone approached, but in the dark he couldn't see whom. The dirt solidified around him, and Zuko hadn't even noticed it was around half his body until it was too late and it became rock.

"What do you want with me?" he muttered. The stranger approached and raised the rock so Zuko could meet the stranger in the eyes.

"You're a firebender," the stranger whispered, but there was no fear in their voice. "It was people like you that enslaved people like me in the Middle Ages."

Zuko rose the only brow with hair left on it. "Who are you, Earthbender?" he asked.

"Me? My name is Haru," the voice replied. He sounded young, but strong.

"You speak English," Zuko observed, "But your name is Chinese."

"That's because I was born in here, but raised in the States," the stranger replied. "But it doesn't matter. What matters is what you're doing here. Firebenders were supposed to stay in Japan and never come here; my father said it was an agreement made a long time ago."

Zuko struggled in vain against his rocky body coffin. "I don't know anything about an agreement. I'm just here for find someone."

"Like who?"

Zuko looked up and distracted Haru as he revealed his scarred left eye and slowly heated the rock until it became like lava on his fingertips. Once free, he grabbed Haru by the collar. In the dim light radiating off of the glowing rocky embers under his feet, he saw scared green eyes framed in brown hair, a tiny mustache growing around his young mouth. He must be no older than fifteen, even if he stands as tall as seventeen, which is Zuko's age.

"An airbender," he told the other boy.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, he meets Haru, haha! Bet ya didn't see that coming. XD  
...Well, neither did I. *sweatdrop***

**Haru will play a nice part in this, you'll see. **

**Up next, we get a glimpse at how our dear Aang is doing~ *hearts***


End file.
